Exploring African-American History in D.C.

Appearing in more than 50 major newspapers, Eileen Ogintz's "Taking the Kids" column is a past winner of the national Clarion Award from Women in Communications.

The meeting of a three-year-old, a cat and a goldfish pond started "Taking the Kids." The three-year-old, Eileen Ogintz' son Matt, pushed the hapless kitty into the pond at a Wisconsin cottage her family had rented for the weekend. "I thought the kitty wanted to go swimming," Matt explained. The furious owner insisted they pack up and leave immediately. The embarrassed parents drove home three hours to Chicago in a downpour.

Eileen Ogintz was a national correspondent for the Chicago Tribune then, covering news stories around the country. The travel editor, hearing her tale of woe about the cat and the goldfish pond, encouraged her to write a story about the trials of traveling with children. That story led to others. "We realized there were a lot of people like me, parents who wanted help planning trips now that they had kids." The award-winning syndicated column Taking the Kids grew out of those stories. Ogintz left the Tribune, after 14 years as a reporter, national correspondent and feature writer, to spend more time with her three young children and to launch the column nationally. The Taking the Kids series of travel guides for children, published by HarperCollins West, has followed.

"More people than ever are taking their kids places, whether they're going to Grandma's or a museum, to Disney World or on a business trip," Ogintz said. "Their time and budgets are tight. I give them the help they need to make the most of their family time." "Planning with the kids' interests in mind can make the difference between a great trip and one that's a disaster," she added.

Taking the Kids now appears in more than 50 major newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, Newsday, Boston Globe, Miami Herald, Baltimore Sun, Chicago Sun-Times, Dallas Morning News and Portland Oregonian. The column won a 1994 national Clarion Award from Women in Communications, Inc. and appears on AOL's Family Travel Network and elsewhere on the Web.

Ogintz has traveled with her husband and kids across the country and abroad -- from London to Disney World to Disneyland -- skiing in Colorado to fishing in Minnesota, soaking up history in Washington, D.C. to sightseeing in Las Vegas, New York and Yellowstone National Park.

The fifth book of the Taking the Kids series, A Kid's Guide to Vacation Fun in the Rocky Mountains, was just published, as well as a book for parents, Are We There Yet?? on taking the kids and surviving. She was the recipient of a 1995 and 1996 Parents' Choice honor for the series, which also highlights the Southwest, Southern California, Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.

Ogintz, who holds a master's in journalism from the University of Missouri, is a 20-year veteran of the newspaper business, reporting for The Anniston Star, The Record in Hackensack, N.J., and Des Moines Register as well as the Chicago Tribune, where she created the paper's family-issues beat. Today, she is regular contributor to numerous national publications, and has appeared on such television programs as "48 Hours," "The Today Show," "Good Morning America" and "Oprah." She created a course on the changing American family at Northwestern University and consults on work/family issues.

From their home in Connecticut, Ogintz travels with her husband, an executive in financial services, and their three children, Matt, Reggie and Melanie, who serve -- not always graciously -- as Taking the Kids' special team of experts.

Write to Eileen Ogintz in care of Los Angeles Times Syndicate, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053.
Or e-mail Eileen at eileen@takingthekids.com

You’ve got to think that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be smiling down as we, on the same day, celebrate his birth and the second inauguration of Barack Obama, our first African-American president.

Ask your kids if they think Dr. King could have ever imagined this day when he gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, in front of 200,000 civil rights supporters, he resolutely called for an end to racism in the United States.

“I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” Dr. King said. “I have a dream today!”

Dr. King began his speech by noting that the Emancipation Proclamation freed millions of slaves in 1863, “But one hundred years later,” he said, “the Negro still is not free.”

This month, of course, also marks the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and I can’t think of a better time than this winter—February is Black History Month—to explore civil rights in Washington and beyond—once the inauguration crowds have gone, of course. (February is typically a great month to snag a hotel deal.)

At the same time, throughout February, Mount Vernon (just outside Washington, D.C., in Virginia) will highlight the lives and contributions of the slaves who built and operated the home of George and Martha Washington. (Visit on President’s Day weekend, February 16 and 17, for a special birthday-weekend celebration. Come on February 18—the national observance of George Washington’s birthday—and admission is free.) You can also visit the Slave Memorial and Burial Ground; throughout February, interpreters in the slave quarters, re-opened in 2010, will explain slave life.

Of course, your visit will start at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, located on the National Mall. After 20 years of planning, the monument was unveiled in 2011. It’s the newest monument on the mall and the first memorial not dedicated to a war, a president, or a white man. Ranger programs and site tours are available throughout the day. (Look for signs in the memorial for the next program’s location and start time.) The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is near the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, in sight of the Lincoln Memorial to the northwest and the Jefferson Memorial to the southeast.

The Stone of Hope, the central point of the memorial, is based on a line from King’s “I Have a Dream” speech: “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” The 30-foot-high statue of King, named the “Stone of Hope,” stands past two pieces of granite that symbolize the “mountain of despair.” (Explain to the kids that they will walk through the Mountain of Despair on their way to the Stone of Hope, just as Dr. King did.)

Kids can pick up a Junior Ranger booklet at the information window in the bookstore. It includes activities and fun facts about the National Mall and Memorial Parks.

When you visit the Lincoln Memorial—which is especially beautiful at night—ask the kids to show you the spot on the steps where King delivered his speech. (It’s commemorated by a plaque.) It took 28 blocks of marble to carve this giant 19-foot Abraham Lincoln. Look for the words of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address carved on the walls. Annually visited by millions, the Lincoln Memorial is the most-visited memorial in the National Mall and Memorial Parks.

Here are five more ways to explore civil rights history and the fight against slavery in our nation’s capital:

Check out the Ford’s Theatre Center for Education and Leadership. The new museum expands upon the artifacts at the adjacent historic Ford’s Theatre. Learn about the Civil War-era president’s life, tragic death, and lasting legacy. Several galleries trace the history of Lincoln’s presidency, while a gallery for temporary exhibits features contemporary information and artifacts related to the Civil War and civil rights movement.

Take a stroll along the African-American Heritage Trail. Explore the trail to learn about popular and lesser-known sites of significance to D.C.’s black heritage, like the U Street Corridor, nicknamed “Black Broadway” for its ties to musical legends like Duke Ellington and Etta James, and performance venues like the newly reopened Howard Theatre.

Visit “The Civil War in America” exhibit at the Library of Congress, where you will see more than 200 items that will put a human face on the conflict—everything from a diary of a Georgia teen to Lincoln’s own reading copy of the Second Inaugural Address to strategic military maps, song sheets, and newspapers, many never before seen by the public.

Whatever you decide to do, a trip Washington, D.C., is a must-see for everyone interested in our country’s history and the valuable contributions African-Americans have made toward what it is today.

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